This is such a powerful and important episode in my opinion! Today we talk to Linda about the impact on families mental health after Covid, and how parents, children, and people are struggling to cope. If you yourself, anyone in your family, or your children struggle with anxiety, and mental health tune in!
Linda is excellent on not just sharing what to do to support a healthier you and family, yet she breaks down WHY her guidance is so impactful, and the best part is everyone can implement these tips, tools, and habits starting today.
Linda is a multi faceted businesswoman in her 60's who has had a lifelong journey of health and wellness. She is an expert at merging scientific studies and knowledge with practical everyday living. Her career spans various sectors, including ergonomics, fitness, and health industries across Canada, the USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Beijing. She is also a wife, a mother, and a grandmother, and a leader within her community.
Watch this episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/QWQoQ_l5iFE
Follow Linda:
Website: www.lindageehesketh.com
*for Linda's FREE 'The Ultimate Guide to Bounce Back from a Bad Sleep' go to her website
Podcast: Celebrating Delicious Movement with Linda Gee Hesketh on Spotify
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Disclaimer
The Entrepreneurial Elevation Podcast and content posted by Kelley Beveridge is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.
Transcript
[00:00:00 - 00:02:00]
Linda opens the conversation by explaining the profound effects of the pandemic on mental health, emphasizing the lasting impact on families and individuals. She highlights how lockdowns rewired our behaviors, leading to increased stress and anxiety.
[00:02:01 - 00:05:00]
Kelley introduces Linda as a health and wellness expert with a career spanning decades and global locations. They discuss her insights on post-pandemic struggles in parenting, education, and family dynamics.
[00:05:01 - 00:08:30]
Linda explores how screen time and sedentary habits during the pandemic have negatively impacted children’s physical and mental health. She discusses behavioral changes stemming from these habits.
[00:08:31 - 00:12:00]
She highlights challenges faced by parents trying to balance their own mental health while supporting their children’s. Linda emphasizes the importance of leading by example and setting boundaries.
[00:12:01 - 00:15:30]
Linda stresses the role of quality sleep in managing stress and improving overall health. She provides actionable tips, such as maintaining consistent sleep schedules and avoiding heavy meals before bed.
[00:15:31 - 00:20:00]
She delves into the importance of hydration for mental clarity and emotional regulation, recommending practical tips like adding electrolytes to water and reducing caffeine intake.
[00:20:01 - 00:25:00]
Linda shares mindfulness practices, including deep nostril breathing and body scanning, as effective tools for calming anxiety. She explains how parents can teach these methods to children.
[00:25:01 - 00:30:00]
The conversation shifts to grounding techniques, such as walking barefoot outdoors, to reduce stress and improve emotional stability. Linda explains the benefits of connecting with nature for mental health.
[00:30:01 - 00:38:00]
Linda discusses how exposure to natural light helps reset circadian rhythms, improving sleep and energy levels. She advises reducing evening blue light exposure from screens.
[00:38:01 - 00:45:00]
She provides practical ways to foster family connection, including shared meals, gratitude practices, and regular communication. Linda emphasizes the importance of small, consistent habits to build emotional resilience.
[00:45:01 - 00:52:00]
As the episode concludes, Linda encourages listeners to start with simple, manageable changes in their daily routines to improve mental and physical health. She reiterates the importance of connection—with oneself, family, and nature—for a healthier, more balanced life.
Transcripts
[:
[00:00:32] Well, your experience of being locked down was unbelievable. And then to think that we're just going back, in rabbity or quotation marks, going back into regular life. Without addressing what's happened because there's neuroplasticity, right? Our brains rewire to good things and to learning and to stress and to chronic pain.
[:
[00:01:31] Hello, listeners and community. I'm just popping on here for a quick second to ask you for a favor and some support. If you are enjoying my episodes and my podcast, can you please go and like, and comment and leave a review and most importantly, download the episodes and download the podcast. As well, you can head over to YouTube for entrepreneurial elevation and you can subscribe to my YouTube channel as I'm attempting to grow my podcast and grow my audience.[00:02:00]
[:
[00:02:19] So if you go into the show notes, you can find a link and click there. And I created a freebie called laying the foundation for a financial breakthrough with your mindset and results. And it's a framework and a workbook that you can do to support you in getting clear right now on what are your values, what really matters to you, what are you internally inspired by, so that you can set goals for this coming year that align with your values.
[:
[00:03:10] So check that out. I created that just for you. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of my community and listening to my podcast. Like I said, my goal is for you to get value. So thanks for listening. And without further ado, let's get to this episode. Welcome fellow entrepreneurs and goal getters to entrepreneurial elevation unleashing greatness within with myself, your host Kelley Beveridge and my dear friend, Linda Gee
[:
[00:04:06] She's just such a wealth of information in health and wellness, but she's also that friend that just has An immense amount of random facts. Like when I hang out with Linda and I leave her presence, I feel smarter because I've always learned something because she's always, did you know? And of course, whatever she shares with me, I didn't know.
[:
[00:04:46] And we're going to be talking about post pandemic mental health and anxiety through the household with kids and parents. And how to go about reducing anxiety through mindful practices and [00:05:00] just Linda, thanks
[:
[00:05:01] being on my podcast. for
[:
[00:05:09] Everybody gets to be a fly on the wall, on ours
[:
[00:05:16] It was basically, we're going to be chatting today. How Linda and I just chat all the time. Yet, it's always something profound. We learn about each other and ourselves. And I think that's what's cool about our relationship. Linda, I want to dive right into the problem first. Because I want to ask you.
[:
[00:05:44] This is a beautiful question. Thank you for asking us because I have a wellness and fitness business and I deal with a lot of adults who are parents and [00:06:00] All of a sudden, there's another priority on the laundry list of priorities, something's rushed to the top.
[:
[00:06:40] Our brains rewire to good things and to learning and to stress and to chronic pain. Our brains have rewired to being locked down and having different stressors. And we're not coping, [00:07:00] is what I'm finding. And as much as people want to pretend that it's all back to normal, it's not necessarily the truth, a hundred percent of the time.
[:
[00:07:35] Without any kind of coping mechanisms or skills, or like you said, even addressing maybe the impact it's had and I agree with you so much, it's created a lot of, I know, even with my friends, they all have kiddos from young ages to teenagers and within the family dynamics, there's mental health and anxiety that's running through the families and I know you deal with a lot of clients, Linda, can you give some examples of maybe what families are [00:08:00] experiencing?
[:
[00:08:03] Some examples, and I, this isn't restricted to the kids or a certain gender, let's say. There's way more screen time, there's way more addiction, I would even call it an addiction, to social media, to being on their screens. They're out of the habit of being outside.
[:
[00:09:26] I think there are a lot of addictions that are carried over, whether it's alcohol, recreational drugs, social media. Or lots of numbing with viewing, like Netflix, I see it.
[:
[00:09:53] And we talked about all of those things, and that, I think, is for children and adults as well. Yet, sometimes I feel, [00:10:00] unfortunately, the parent gets a little bit neglected in this scenario, because the focus is so much on the kids. What are you, I'm just curious when it comes to the parents, I want to talk about them for a second.
[:
[00:10:23] parents are feeling helpless because they don't know how to reach their child. So if you can't reach them, you can't teach them.
[:
[00:10:59] I'll just drop it. [00:11:00] Depending on what the parent's level of self leadership is. They might just drop that whole campaign, if I can call it that, with their child when really it needs to start up and it needs the example to be set. But also if you have somebody who's working from home, then it's almost like it quote unquote justifies that the adult is on their screen or on their computer or on zoom or whatever.
[:
[00:11:40] It's this identity and the amount of authority, it's the amount of setting an example, and there's a huge amount of fatigue and frustration. If the parents aren't sleeping well, if they're not feeling on top of their game, if they're [00:12:00] feeling frustrated, the way that they're dealing with their child, It might not be the best solution for that child.
[:
[00:12:31] If there is another one, sometimes that's good because there's third party validation. You have another voice. Reiterating the importance of the campaign, the health campaign, but sometimes in a single parent household, it's just one against the other. And then you're butting heads like, and that's its own stress.
[:
[00:13:10] lot.
[:
[00:13:42] Yet, listen to what you just described. That's a lot of responsibility. So I'm just curious what tips you have for parents to even start to take a beautiful question.
[:
[00:14:44] And so I spend a lot of time with my clients talking about sleep. I have a freebie about how to save the day after you've had a crap sleep. We can give your listeners, your audience that absolutely. And there are [00:15:00] different methods of doing it. It's if I could give you 10 methods, it's
[:
[00:15:28] That melatonin is paired with cortisol which is a stress hormone. My sleep tonight is built on what I've done this morning, and I can reset it in three days, like in 72 hours.
[:
[00:15:57] The first one I would [00:16:00] say is, okay, I should first say, call myself out. I am earnest about this subject because I am historically a crap sleeper. And I told myself a lie for many decades that. Oh, I'm one of those people who only need five hours of sleep a night. What I didn't realize is I was frying my adrenal glands because I was always living in that adrenaline fight or flight and I completely burnt myself out and had a complete crash in my 40s.
[:
[00:17:09] Oh, when you're a kid, you just want to be an adult. So you don't have a bedtime. It's no, you need a bedtime. Give yourself a regular time, let's say you're not a shift worker, 10 p. m. to 7 a. m., and stick with it, weekend, weekday, holidays, days off, vacation, getting yourself on a circadian rhythm that you can re Respect.
[:
[00:18:07] And our built in air conditioner. Is our hydration and people are chronically dehydrated. So when we're not drinking enough water, our core temperature is going to run hot, which is going to interrupt our sleep. So that would be the second strategy. I think. Yeah. Interesting to me. When people think, Oh, but I drink water all day or I don't want to stop at every Starbucks and every McDonald's to go to the bathroom.
[:
[00:19:12] It's 35 mils in potteries. Okay, there is like a fine line between everything, like the wheels fall off and functioning. There's
[:
[00:19:34] is a good question.
[:
[00:19:41] hmm.
[:
[00:20:01] For example, if somebody weighs 200 pounds, divide that by 2 is 100, 100 divided by 8, so 8 ounce glasses is 13, 13 divided by 4 is three and a quarter a one, a 200 pound person needs three and a quarter liters of water a day to sustain life as not including caffeine, not including exercise, not including living at altitude and not including living in a dry climate.
[:
[00:20:35] Wow. Okay. This is such, and the thing that is so funny about what you're sharing, not funny yet, just in a way, this is, we've been told this forever. Do you know what I mean? Get sleep, drink water, get sleep and drink water. Like it actually can be simple.
[:
[00:20:51] It's because people are looking for something exotic. It's, oh, if I drink warm water, maybe I should get that electrolyte drink. No, just drink the water. Put five or six [00:21:00] grains of sea salt in your water. And if you have 500 ml, shake it up, you won't taste it, but it'll stay in you for longer because all of our biological water is salty, like our tears are salty, our perspiration is salty.
[:
[00:21:45] m. until 5 p. m. And you can just think this is a really beautiful, elegant system because if I have high kidney function for the first 10 hours and every hour I drink 250 mil, [00:22:00] Then I will get enough water and then from 5:00 PM until I go to bed, I don't need a lot and kidneys are functioning a little slower, a little less efficiently.
[:
[00:22:40] But it can make a big difference. And people will notice they're losing body fat. Their brain is more alert. Their mood is better. Their sleep is deeper. Their muscles are less crampy. Their joints are more fluid and less crinkly. Like their periods are better. It's amazing. It's [00:23:00] amazing. Less puffiness under their eyes, sore throats, and sinus issues through the winter.
[:
[00:23:13] information, Linda. Go
[:
[00:23:51] Or constipation, a urine that's any color of tea, like any kind of dark or [00:24:00] brown and like to urinate eight times a day is very normal, but people redefine their normal when they're dehydrated. So that was a lot of information. Sorry. You asked, you asked one question. No, I love it.
[:
[00:24:40] So in my mind, I was thinking, where can people just start, like, where can they just start Where it doesn't create more overwhelm, it's actually going to be something that's easy, a new habit that's doable, where you can start to see a major difference, and that's just what you talked about at the end of the day, you can start with your water consumption, and [00:25:00] then practicing getting So, Better sleep and the impact that just those two things can have with your mindset, with your nervous system, with your anxiety levels is massive.
[:
[00:25:28] m. and be like, I haven't had my water intake and I'll be chugging water and I am up throughout the night so it's counteracting productive. Yeah. So start early.
[:
[00:25:45] Oh, it goes. I totally am, and I'm going to be like, thank you!
[:
[00:25:58] It's not. [00:26:00] People don't know that our kidneys have a circadian rhythm. People think, oh, everybody thinks they eat well.
[:
[00:26:18] Oh, thanks for sharing that actually though, because that is so true. Okay, so I'm curious we talked about sleep, we talked about water. What are some other mindful practices that families can implement throughout the household to support their dynamic in have
[:
[00:26:36] One. Would be nostril breathing.
[:
[00:26:48] Coach Core, we provide you with everything you need in one place. You can house your courses, manage memberships, run email campaigns, and create social media.
[:
[00:26:58] And it's not [00:27:00] just about the software. We offer built in coaching and mentorship, helping you implement best practices from certified NLP practitioners and StoryBrand coaches. And that's just scratching the surface of what's inside.
[:
[00:27:18] Kelley is a thought leader who inspires and elevates entrepreneurs worldwide.
[:
[00:27:31] practice. So join us on this journey. Tune into the Entrepreneurial Elevation podcast for insights and inspiration and visit Coach Core to transform your coaching business today.
[:
[00:27:50] So we have two parts to our nervous system that's like the nervous system is king. And then we have the part that we control. Like [00:28:00] I get up, I decide I'm going to walk up the stairs and go outside. The other part of my nervous system is called the autonomic nervous system. It's highly automatic. So my heart rate goes up.
[:
[00:29:49] that Must be
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[00:29:50] your
[:
[00:29:53] Yes, the other side, I should mention another thing that puts us into that [00:30:00] zone is refined sugar, caffeine. So we can think about our kids, right? We're giving them too much juice and they have too much sugar. It's a stressor. But on the other side of that other branch is where we rest and repair and digest.
[:
[00:31:05] So when people have a panic attack and they're frozen in this, that's when they vomit, that's when they. Evacuate their intestines because the body doesn't want to be having the stressor of digesting food when they're running from the bear. So you want to spend time in this other side and one of the quickest ways to get into the other side is nostril breathing and we have access to that all the time when we're driving.
[:
[00:31:49] And so just to clarify, when you say nostril breathing, you literally just mean close your mouth and breathe through your nose. Okay. Just wanted to double check if we [00:32:00] were supposed to be doing anything fancy.
[:
[00:32:06] work practices that are very effective, but this one's so simple. And this is one that you can teach your kids. So if you think your kids are getting bullied, or they're getting teased, or they're nervous about a test, or they're going to a new school, or they have a new friend group, breathing through their nose.
[:
[00:32:41] I love that Linda, because 71 seconds. That's a great tool to have because the kids can just do it without looking strange or having to go somewhere or they could be in their selves, in their body, in the environment they're in and just take that time to reground themselves through something so [00:33:00] simple.
[:
[00:33:05] I said I had four more, but I don't want to. In my lifetime, I have dealt with some severe PTSD, and I did lots of talk therapy, lots of journaling. It wasn't working. They asked me to reenact, and I was like, yeah, I'm not down for it.
[:
[00:33:50] Okay. But I'll try it. It's the last, but that's the one. And it's called EMDR. Eye movement, desensitization, [00:34:00] something, but it worked and I got married to Rich.
[:
[00:34:15] I'm going to take the cheat code out of the therapy.
[:
[00:34:46] So when we have our eyes go back and forth, we can calm our nervous system. Easiest way to do that is to go outside for a walk [00:35:00] and don't look at your phone. Oh, so if I'm walking, I am naturally scanning. Left and right, because I'm looking for traffic, I'm looking for dogs, I'm looking for ice or sticks on the ground.
[:
[00:35:47] I'm not saying it's bad. I'm saying it has its place and its place is not all of the time. Going for a walk is a zero cost way [00:36:00] to really calm your nervous system. Just make sure that your eyes are not on your phone or a device. So that's why the treadmill, if you're watching. A television show on the treadmill doesn't necessarily work, even though you went and walked on the treadmill for five minutes.
[:
[00:36:35] Okay, I said that melatonin and cortisol are on a circadian cycle, right?
[:
[00:37:23] And then at about 2 a. m. That human growth hormone and the melatonin drops off and cortisol starts to build up for the next four hours until about 6 a. m. And then it causes, it hits a threshold and it causes my connective tissue to contract a little bit and it wakes me up. And then my cortisol is high when I wake up first thing in the morning.
[:
[00:38:12] morning, like first thing in the morning, do your best to get up and just get outside.
[:
[00:38:16] even throw
[:
[00:38:17] open and just look out the window. Yeah. And it, you don't have to be looking at the sun. And it still works if it's a cloudy day or a rainy day or a snowing day, you might need longer, but even five or ten minutes within the first hour or two that the sun rises and then the last two hours before the sun sets, that wavelength of light when the sun is at a low angle helps us reset our melatonin circadian rhythm and that will help us with our sleep.
[:
[00:39:26] Yeah, for sure. And that's usually when a lot of people are on like experiencing the most blue light sometimes. Or sometimes people
[:
[00:39:52] So you're exposing yourself to all this blue light. Sometimes people wear blue light glasses, and blue light glasses my first [00:40:00] preference would be for them to be away from the screens and to dim the lights. But sometimes, if people are wearing blue light glasses, there's a whole variety of quality some only block 6 percent of the blue light, some block 70%.
[:
[00:40:36] different. So interesting. Okay. I'm loving all this information that you're sharing, Linda.
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[00:40:59] Getting [00:41:00] grounded.
[:
[00:41:36] So hands or feet. Skin touching the ground, and I know this is going to sound like I'm a tree hugger, but it is like the antidote. If you think about it, you could wake up in a condo, put on your shoes, go outside, be on concrete, be in your car, go into your office building or your school, come back home, do the reverse, [00:42:00] and never be in touch with the ground for years.
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[00:42:23] In your
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[00:42:52] It's very healing and it's It can be very, very calming.
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[00:43:13] You could hit up all those. You could go stand outside, look up at the light, go for a little walk, do some nostril breathing. The end.
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[00:43:33] Like even if you think, Oh, I can't do three days do one day because it immediately immediately makes a difference. I can remember. This time last year, I was at a funeral and I was wearing bare feet in slides and we were at the cemetery and it was so heart wrenching, it was one of my son's friends, a very young [00:44:00] man, and I just stepped out of my shoes and I stood on the grass and I just felt,
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[00:44:08] I can do this.
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[00:44:29] Yeah, what are some best ways that you can talk to your children who are going through mental health and possible anxiety and all of the things that they're going through? about some of these mindfulness tools in a way that is impactful, age appropriate, comforting. They're going to want to start to do it.
[:
[00:44:55] This is a beautiful question. I literally draw [00:45:00] that nervous system. This nervous system, central nervous system, autonomic has a gas and a brake. And I draw it like a yin yang symbol and I say, we need both and we can't be all heavy on one side because then we'll feel bad on either side, you'll feel that the key is to have some of each and I think having one of the ways that you can synchronize your circadian rhythm with other family members, one of the most effective is to eat at the same time, having a meal together, As often as you can, I get it, but sometimes you're rushing, kids have lessons, or people are driving and ask the question, what is something you're looking forward to this week?
[:
[00:46:19] And having that celebration of not to be a natural cheerleader, but to have a celebration of the roses, like the beautiful parts of the day is a, it's own natural dopamine kicks and dopamine sounds like a feel good chemical and it is, but more than that, it's a chemical of motivation to keep going. And so it gives people a chance to be heard.
[:
[00:47:02] I love it. Thanks for sharing all of this, Linda. I'm going to be, I'm already sitting here thinking I'm going to send this to all of my friends and people I know because not even just parents or people with children, just everybody could use this guidance that you've been talking about today, right?
[:
[00:47:45] What I love to do, my passion is to teach people. I do it in many different forms. I have a podcast. It's called Celebrating Delicious Movement. I have courses that are live and pre recorded for self study. [00:48:00] I have a membership. It's called Level Up Fitness, where I coach people twice a week. On their actual fitness routine, but I include programs like this discussion within it for them.
[:
[00:48:44] And I also have a deep passion for epigenetics, which is turning our genes on for more youthful expressions. People can find me. On my website, lindageehesketh.com and there is a free offer there for how to [00:49:00] salvage the day after you've had a poor sleep. Oh my god.
[:
[00:49:06] I vouch for you a hundred percent. Linda, you And the, I don't know if I said this in my intro yet, what I love about you is you really operate from the heart. You are a teacher by the way, yet you teach in a way because you want to create an impact for people to live a better life. And that has been my experience of you since I met you.
[:
[00:49:54] And I have three last questions. If you can answer them in short form, one sentence, each type [00:50:00] thing that I ask all of my guests. And so my question for you today, you're in the hot seat. What would you say
[:
[00:50:19] And no comparison to other people in their path.
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[00:50:46] What's one thing you would say for them to just start implementing today?
[:
[00:50:58] it's to breathe. [00:51:00] Mm hmm.
[:
[00:51:11] Wow.
[:
[00:51:29] And so Linda, thank you so much and good luck with everything you're doing and you're just making a big impact. You bring
[:
[00:51:42] Thank you.
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[00:51:44] my gosh. I always learn so much from Linda. I promise you. I mean it.
[:
[00:52:12] She's so genuine with that and so really grateful to have had her on the podcast. Linda, thank you so much around such a, I think, relatable and relevant topic as families go through dealing with mental health and just the aftermath of. It doesn't even have to be COVID, just life nowadays, right? And if we can have some tools so that we could be more equipped to be better within ourselves, with our mindset and our health, and then be able to pour from a full cup to our families, that's how we want it to be, right?
